2004-11 November 2004 Newsletter

Santa is on his way and we have some great ideas for stocking stuffers and gifts. We search all year to find special and delicious wines for your parties and gift giving. Once a year, in December, we offer you these wines. Sparkling wine is historically the special touch for dinners and parties. Late Harvest Riesling is delicious with warm baked pears, cheese, or served alone for the ultimate after-dinner refreshment. These wines are unique and exceptional. What a perfect hostess gift, stocking stuffer or present for yourself, co-workers and loved ones! And now on to this month's selections.

Our Regular Series
The concept of negotiant wineries is to blend, age and bottle unique wines from their own and select outsourced vineyards to produce reasonably priced wines of superior quality. Mountain View Cabernet Sauvignon is one such example. Excellent fruit and soft balanced tannins make this wine delicious glass after glass.
German wines are special and possess a wonderfully fruity quality to them. They are categorized by ripeness levels. Havemeyer Pinot Grigio brings a refreshing, dry, and smooth pear and apple flavor to the table. A qualitatswein with an official control number proves that it has met the strict government quality tests. It is delicious with fish and salads.Our Limited Series
Mount Eden Chardonnay exemplifies classic California Chardonnay at its very best. It is run with the care of a family-owned business. The wine is a fine example of vine selection, soil, low yields, and climate. We are pleased and excited to offer this wine as one of your Limited Series selections.
The Bordeaux region brought us a delightful St. Emilion from one of its satellite regions, Montagne. Chateau du Moulin Noir produces wines from 18 hectares of vines. We love the soft, brilliant Merlot fruit and earthiness that is so special to this region. What a special wine for your collection!

Domestic Selection

In 1978, San Francisco entrepreneur, Kevin Shannon, had a brainstorm and founded Mountain View Wines.
Mountain View is one of California's first negociant wineries. The negociant blends, ages and bottles a unique brand from its own vineyards and other select out-sourced vineyards. This is a popular and common practice of many producers in Burgundy and Bordeaux.
Kevin realized the importance of having a strong relationship with his growers. The grower and the negociant must have a keen understanding and direction in order to produce wines which are reasonably priced and of superior quality.
Mountain View Wines are sourced from vineyards in regions that offer strong varietel character as well as exceptional value.
Some of these sources are Monterey, Amador, Cameros, Mendocino, and the Central Coast.
The grapes for Mountain
View Cabernet are sourced from the heart of the Paso Robles district, where the soil and climate conditions are ideal for this varietel.
Paso Robles is the largest inland appellation in California's San Luis Obispo County The high ridges of the Santa Lucia Mountains make for relentless sunny and hot growing seasons. That fact plus the high elevation produce the hottest days anywhere along the coast. The Cabernet grape ripens early and well. The wines are soft and lack the vegetal flavors often found in other Central Coast Cabernets.
In the Mountain View Cabernet, the fruit is the key attraction and the oak is secondary. The texture is firm and the soft ripe fruit flavors reveal depth and structure.
This is a perfect wine to drink now with pasta and light meat dishes but will also keep for a few more years in your cellar. 2002
Cabernet Sauvignon
(Cab-air-nay
so-ving-yahn) Mountain View
Central Coast
Deep, dark red color.
Fresh blackberry and cherry nose.
Medium-full bodied.
Rich, concentrated flavors of ripe dark fruits.
Integrated tannins.
Soft and alluring finish.

Imported Selection

German wines have a wonderful fruity and spicy quality to them. We found the Havemeyer Pinot Grigio to be an exceptional example of this.
The Pinot Grigio grape grows best in deep mineral soils. The Rheinhessen region of Germany has the perfect growing conditions for this varietel. The weather is sunny and dry, allowing the grapes to fully ripen.
The Rheinhessen is the largest wine region in Germany. It lies on the crook of Rhine on the east and north, by the Nahe on the west and the Pfaltz to the south.
The Pinot Grigio wines from this area have high extract, slightly low acidity, and certain spiciness in the aroma.
Unlike many Pinot Grigio wines, Havemeyer is full bodied and weighty so its accompaniment with food is very versatile.
This is the same grape known as Grauer Burgunder, Tokay dAlsace, Malvoisie, Pinot Cris, Pinot Beurot, and Rulander. It is grown all over the world, but makes its finest appearance in the vineyards of
Germany.
Many German wine labels are confusing to the consumer, but the Havemeyer is spearheading a renaissance in Germany, using simple labeling and making wines with a new world attitude.
It is labeled QbA, Qualitatswein, which is German for quality wines, which is a legally defined category established by the strict German Wine Laws of 1971.
QbA is the short version of Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (quality wine from specified region). These wines must have a certain amount of natural grape sugar, must come from one of the eleven specified wine regions, and the regions name must appear on the label.
This delicious wine is full-bodied, smooth on the palate, and rich with peach, apple, and exotic fruits. It is a great match with fish, salads, and pasta. 2003
Pinot Grigio
(Pee-no Gree-gio) Havemeyer
Rheinhessen Germany
Light yellow color.
Fresh apple and papaya nose.
Full-bodied.
Peach, apple, pear flavors.
Hints of spice.
Smooth, long, dry finish.

Limited Series Selection

German wines have a wonderful fruity and spicy quality to them. We found the Havemeyer Pinot Grigio to be an exceptional example of this.
The Pinot Grigio grape grows best in deep mineral soils. The Rheinhessen region of Germany has the perfect growing conditions for this varietel. The weather is sunny and dry, allowing the grapes to fully ripen.
The Rheinhessen is the largest wine region in Germany. It lies on the crook of Rhine on the east and north, by the Nahe on the west and the Pfaltz to the south.
The Pinot Grigio wines from this area have high extract, slightly low acidity, and certain spiciness in the aroma.
Unlike many Pinot Grigio wines, Havemeyer is full bodied and weighty so its accompaniment with food is very versatile.
This is the same grape known as Grauer Burgunder, Tokay dAlsace, Malvoisie, Pinot Cris, Pinot Beurot, and Rulander. It is grown all over the world, but makes its finest appearance in the vineyards of
Germany.
Many German wine labels are confusing to the consumer, but the Havemeyer is spearheading a renaissance in Germany, using simple labeling and making wines with a new world attitude.
It is labeled QbA, Qualitatswein, which is German for quality wines, which is a legally defined category established by the strict German Wine Laws of 1971.
QbA is the short version of Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (quality wine from specified region). These wines must have a certain amount of natural grape sugar, must come from one of the eleven specified wine regions, and the regions name must appear on the label.
This delicious wine is full-bodied, smooth on the palate, and rich with peach, apple, and exotic fruits. It is a great match with fish, salads, and pasta. 2003
Pinot Grigio
(Pee-no Gree-gio) Havemeyer
Rheinhessen Germany
Light yellow color.
Fresh apple and papaya nose.
Full-bodied.
Peach, apple, pear flavors.
Hints of spice.
Smooth, long, dry finish.
Mount Eden Vineyards is a small historic wine estate located on a 2000 foot peak in the Santa Cruz Mountain Range about 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
It was founded in 1942, and is considered one of the original boutique California wineries. Their focus is on small lots of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet.
Andy MacGregor farms 62 acres of Chardonnay vines in Edna Valley, just outside San Luis Obispo. Mount Eden purchases about two-thirds of his crop and ships the grapes to the winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Edna Valley is very much a coastal vineyard area, with the Pacific Ocean influencing the climate on a daily basis.
The growing season is one of the longest in the world. This slow ripen
ing process, the extreme maritime weather, low yields, and meager soils make the perfect conditions for growing Chardonnay grapes.
Jeffrey Patterson has guided the winemaking at Mount Eden since 1981. His emphasis is on wine growing rather than wine making.
The 2001 vintage was harvested in mid-October, one of the latest in California history. This is a big ripe vintage.
We like this wine because it is big in scale yet the flavors are deli¬cate and complex.
The fruit is pressed with¬out crushing and is then barrel-fermented in a mix of old and new French oak barrels. It is then aged in Mount Eden's mountain cave for eleven months before release. This gives the wine a beautiful texture, complexity and becomes one of the finest exam¬ples of Chardonnay from California. 2001
Chardonnay
(shar-doe-nay) Mount Eden
MacGregor Vineyard
Edna Valley
Light golden yellow color.
Lush tropical fruit smells
Complex fruit flavors.
Pineapple, guava, grapefruit.
Warm, toasty oak.
Long, rich finish.

Limited Series Selection

Four villages, north of St. Emilion proper, are known as the St. Emilion satellites.
The quartet of Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St. Georges were once part of the St. Emilion proper.
The 1935 appellation sys¬tem cast them out into the fringes of Bordeaux.
It has taken a while for them to regain their self-esteem and attention so long overdue.
Of the four, Montagne has the most exciting estates. It has great soils and is the largest of the four.
Montagne is located 23 miles northeast of Bordeaux on the right bank of the Dordogne River. The soil here is similar to that of Pomerol with its clay and limestone blend.
The most planted grape is Merlot and the wines produced are the deepest
and richest of all the satellites.
The wines produced here, as well as the other St. Emilion satellite regions, represent excel¬lent bargains and the top wines can be the equiva¬lent of a good Grand Cru St. Emilion.
Chateau du Moulin Noir produces wines from 18 hectares of vines that cut through both the Lussac and Puisseguin appella¬tions.
The Atlantic influence brings a maritime cli¬mate. The growing sea¬son has mild winters, warm summers and long, sunny autumns. The biggest concern here is when the rains will come.
The 2001 Chateau du Moulin Noir has fresh, bright berries and violets in the nose. It is full-bodied, dense, and smoky. It is 85 % Merlot and 35 % Cabernet Franc.
Wonderfully delicious!2001
Chateau du Moulin
Noir
Merlot / Cabernet Franc
(mare-low / Cab-air-nay franc) Montagne St. Emilion
Bordeaux
Dark red color.
Fresh black jam nose.
Full-bodied, Soft tannins.
Blackberry. Currants. Smoky.
Vanilla, berry aftertaste.

Member Inquiry

Am I allergic to sul-
phites? Every time I begin to sip red wine, I sneeze. I call it my "red wine sneeze." If I drink more than two glasses, I get a stuffy nose too.

You should see your doctor, and get allergy tests to be sure of its causes. Although alcohol can be the culprit is could also be the additives used in the manufacturing process. Some possible culprits include: brewers yeast, corn, eggs, grapes, molds, sulphites, and pesticides. Sulphites are mostly on the grape skins so white wine will have less concen-tration. Take an antihistamine such as Sudafed before drinking. Always drink three times as much water as alcohol; you may make more trips to the restroom but the results could be worth it. Try to drink as high a quality as possible, both with wine and spirits. Low quality products use inferior grapes, bar-rels, and the least pure alcohol to make them. An extremely few peo-ple are allergic to sulphites. If you have a sulphites allergy you cannot
eat canned foods, dried rood., pro-cessed foods, fast food, french fries, soda, bacon, raisins, chewing gum, brown sugar, vinegar, mustards, smoked fish, many bread products, chocolate, spices and many season¬ings because these products all have much more parts per million of sulphites than any glass of wine. Grapes are in a constant battle of ecological and evolutionary sur¬vival. Over the millions of years, they have been attacked by insects and scavengers trying to use them as a food source. The grapes have
¬developed a chemical defense that they produce naturally called an amine. It repels insects from break-ing through the skins. When we drink or eat this amine, we get a histamine reaction such as headache, rash, or hives. It seems then that we are allergic to the grape and not the sulphites. The use of sulphites to sterilize wines is as old as wine itself.
The government controls the use of sulphites and without it; we would have to drink our wines within a few months.
When the label states, 'No sulphites added' it still contains naturally occurring sulphites from Mother Nature.
Drink in moderation with food and good company. Cheers!